(Aug. 29, 2024-MANZANITA) – One lane of U.S. 101 has reopened with traffic flagging 24/7 until repairs can be made to a bridge four miles north of Manzanita in the Oswald West State Park area.
The single-lane flagging is likely to continue through the busy holiday travel weekend, so please plan extra time into your trip if you’re traveling on U.S. 101 on the northern Oregon coast.
A section of concrete sidewalk and guardrail collapsed on the Necarney Creek Bridge sometime Thursday afternoon. A Tillamook resident alerted ODOT to the damage at about 4 p.m. Thursday after crossing the bridge.
Tillamook County Sheriff’s Office deputies closed the lane next to the collapsed section immediately. By 4:30 p.m., we asked the deputies to close the bridge fully as a precaution until we could inspect the bridge. We reopened one lane of the bridge after the inspection at about 6:45 p.m.
We have no estimate of when repairs can be completed or when the affected lane can be reopened.
We suspect that a vehicle struck the bridge sometime Thursday, but we aren’t aware of any witnesses or any reports of an incident or crash.
The Necarney Creek Bridge was built in 1937, and the section that collapsed is a part of the original concrete construction.
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